


Starting Over

by meaghann



Category: Psych
Genre: Friendship, M/M, Pre-Slash, Road Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-08 23:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12263937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meaghann/pseuds/meaghann
Summary: One life ends, another begins.





	Starting Over

People always say 'the last thing I remembered,' but it isn't really. Carlton Lassiter remembers a lot of last things. The last time he saw the Santa Barbara police station. The last time McNab grinned his ridiculous grin. The last time the city was whole. The last time he saw his apartment building. The last time Juliet O’Hara drove away from him. His life is made up last times now. No more music on the radio, no more bakery on the corner with his favourite coffee and banana bran muffin. His life here is destroyed, his home gone, the city gone, the world falling down. He finds a sporting goods store and loads up with a good backpack, camping supplies, freeze dried food, pouches for water, ammunition for his handgun and then a hunting rifle and ammunition, he considers a machete and then takes that as well. He spins through the store, feeling pressure to leave soon, but not wanting to make a mistake. He settles on a good Leatherman, fire lighting tools in a pouch, spare clothes and hiking boots. It isn't until he's at the door that he sees the longbow and arrows that he pauses. Carlton as a child always wanted a bow and arrow. It slides over his shoulder and he hurries out to his vehicle. Then he hurries right back in again and gets almost the same stuff over again for Spencer, knowing that the younger man has been grieving and distracted. The car is fine for the city, but going all the way to Voltage, Oregon to Juliet’s cousin’s place he will need something better. A car lot near the edge of town has the perfect choice; a Land Rover with winch and good tires. It even has a gun rack already. He loads up and then stops for gas, filling two gas cans as well. Finally the smell is too much and he knows it's time to go. He had been running on adrenaline all this time, but now he can see the bodies and smell the decay. So many places with warnings painted on the doors. 'Sickness here, stay away' It all happened so fast. 

It didn’t really happen fast and he knows that. An earthquake this time last year, damaging much of the city and they had to fight hard to gain back any sense of normalcy,  Floods in various cities around the country, hurricanes, another earthquake and then a rolling series of sicknesses; flu, cholera, an honest-to-god plague, a much worse flu and there are so many less people to run anything anymore. Rolling power blackouts become normal and when O’Hara takes Gus and leaves, Carlton is not surprised. She calls every week to keep him updated, but he is still lonely. Chief Vick died two months ago, his mother and sister moved away and the phone networks are so bad he can’t ever reach them. He shouldn’t complain, Gus’s sister has dropped out of touch, and his parents died last winter of the flu. Spenser was looking after his dad and Carlton would check in on him every few days, seeing that they had food and water, but Spencer Sr. is gone too and Spencer has become sad and diminished. Carlton stops the Land Rover in front of Spencer’s building and goes in.  The younger man looks the same, but paler and more subdued. Life in this place is draining all of them. 

“Spencer, let’s get out of here. This place is depressing.”

“Hey, I know my housekeeping has been bad, but no need to diss the place.”

Carlton rolls his eyes, but banter means he’s feeling a bit better. “The city, Spencer, I want to put it far behind us.”

They head out to the Land Rover and Shawn whistles.

“Lassie, nice ride for the post-apocalyptic world.”

“Well, we needed a sturdier vehicle with more storage space.  I may also have bought you a present” said Carlton. 

Shawn smiled wide. “You got me a present Lassie? Man, times have changed. What did you get?” Lassiter showed him the camping gear and weapons and clothes he had packed for him, including the matching bow and arrow. Shawn’s shoulders were shaking and Lassiter assumed he was laughing at the absurdity of it which made sense, but he was crying, gulping sobs, the noise held in, but his fists were clenched hard. “I’m ok, just overwhelmed by everything these days, and this equipment, it means we’re done here. We’re leaving.” Lassiter was lost as to the right thing to do, so he just gripped the younger man’s shoulder and waited for him to calm.

“It’s ok Spencer, we’ll get through it. Guster is on the other end of this road trip, remember?”

“I know, I’m happy about that. Let’s do this.”

Spencer went up to get his remaining bag and closed the door on his home for the final time. He settled in the passenger seat, pulling out a bag of cds and possibly the last bag of Funyons in the city. Carlton barked out a laugh and the two unlikeliest of friends wound their way through a shattered Santa Barbara and out onto the freeway heading north.


End file.
